GOPers Knew About New Allegation Last Week, Tried To Rush Confirmation Vote

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh (C) is led by committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) as Kavanaugh arrives for testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee during ...WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh (C) is led by committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) as Kavanaugh arrives for testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)MORE LESS

Senior staffers for Senate Republicans knew about Deborah Ramirez’s sexual misconduct allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as early as last week, resulting in their bosses pushing to hold Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote sooner, according to a Sunday New Yorker report.

Senate Democrats also found out last week, and at least two of the four who knew reportedly started investigating the allegation to assess its credibility. “This is another serious, credible, and disturbing allegation against Brett Kavanaugh,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-H). “It should be fully investigated.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is now calling for the confirmation hearing to be delayed until the FBI can investigate Ramirez’s alleged assault, which she says occurred when she and Kavanaugh were attending Yale, as well as that of professor Christine Blasey Ford, who says she was assaulted by Kavanaugh when they were both in high school.

Kate Riga (@Kate_Riga24)
is a newswriter for TPM and a contributor to the Josh Marshall Podcast, based in New York City. A Philadelphia native, Kate graduated from Georgetown University and previously worked as a political reporter at the Southampton Press in New York.